Space

A sight to behold: Supernovae through the eyes of an artificial intelligence

Space, Technology / /

Only 0.1 percent. Without artificial intelligence (AI), cutting-edge astral observatories around the world may be able to comprehensively classify only 0.1 percent of the approximately 1 million supernovae observed yearly. Ashley Villar of Columbia University, along with many other experts, is aware of the limitations of data collection using human techniques. In response, these experts […]

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Terraforming Mars: The hard science & bizarre culture surrounding the sci-fi concept

Space / /

Elon Musk walks out to applause for his September 2015 interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” After exchanging pleasantries, Colbert asks Musk about his fascination with our closest solar neighbor: “You sincerely think that we should go to Mars…Why do we want to go to Mars? It’s uninhabitable.” “It is a fixer-upper of

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Disappearance of exoplanet Fomalhaut b: A Q&A with George Rieke, a professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona

Space / /

In 2008, Hubble Telescope Observations detected Fomalhaut b, an exoplanet 25 light-years away from Earth. It was one of the first directly imaged exoplanets, and was considered a benchmark in search for exoplanets. Latest research published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) concludes that Fomalhaut is not an exoplanet at all but

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The phantom planet: How one of the first directly imaged exoplanets turned out to be dust

Space / /

In 2008, news was abuzz with the detection of a massive exoplanet just 25 light years away from Earth, practically in our cosmic backyard. While the features of neither the exoplanet, Fomalhaut b, nor its star, Fomalhaut, were extraordinary, this discovery was notable for two things that unfolded in its wake.  First, it proved that

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The Hubble Space Telescope: A catalyst for modern space exploration

Space, Technology / /

Astronomers have looked to telescopes as the most powerful tool for planetary and interstellar observation since their conception in the 17th century. Peering up at the sky from the ground, these telescopes facilitated the discovery of the Solar System planets and their moons, many types of stars, and distant galaxies. But in 1990, one telescope

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Series of breakthroughs in solar physics could make predicting dangerous solar flares a reality

Space, Technology / /

Over the summer, two independent collaborations of solar physicists published breakthrough papers within months of each other, furthering our understanding of the mechanics of solar flares and how to predict them. With just four years until peak activity in the sun’s 11-year solar cycle, the ability to predict potentially dangerous solar flares is more crucial

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